Honduran Illegal Alien Sentenced for Impeding and Obstructing Law Enforcement

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - On March 12, 2026, JOSE WALTER NIETO-CASTELLANOS ("NIETO-CASTELLANOS"), age 31, was sentenced on March 12, 2026, after previously pleading guilty, for Assault Against Law Enforcement, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.

According to court documents, on October 14, 2025, NIETO-CASTELLANOS forcibly obstructed and impeded a United States Border Patrol Agent, with Customs and Border Protection, United States Border Patrol, while that agent was engaged in the performance of his official duties. During enforcement operations in Gretna, Louisiana federal law enforcement officers identified a vehicle associated with an individual believed to at the time to be unlawfully present in the United States. The officers initiated a traffic stop for immigration-related enforcement purposes. NIETO-CASTELLANOS did not immediately yield and attempted to evade the officers. Ultimately, the was stopped by the officers. NIETO-CASTELLANOS refused commands to the vehicle and physically resisted officers during the removal from the vehicle and the application of handcuffs before being restrained.

United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier sentenced NIETO-CASTELLANOS to time served, a total of four (4) and ½ months imprisonment, 1-year of supervised release after imprisonment, and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. NIETO-CASTELLANOS has now been transferred into the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection after which he will be removed from the United States, and sent back to Honduras.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

U.S. Attorney Courcellepraised the work of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in investigating this matter. Special Assistant United States Attorney Frederick W. Veters Jr., of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.